Crucifax by Ray Garton

She started to tell Kevin she didn't want to stay and she especially didn't want to go into that building because she had a prickly feeling at the back of her neck, like when she was a little girl and her father took her to Disneyland, where she chickened out seconds before entering the Haunted Mansion because she knew it was going to be scary inside, scary as hell, and she didn't want to be that scared, but then Kevin snapped, "Shut up!" and she closed her mouth.
    A siren howled mournfully in the distance.
    "No reason to shout, Kevin," the man said calmly. He stepped forward into the hazy glow cast by a street light and smiled at them. It was a warm and welcoming smile, and Mallory felt some of the tension in her neck melt away. She almost smiled back.
    Almost. Not quite.
    "You must be Mallory," he said pleasantly, taking her hand.
    She smiled; the gracious gesture was so unexpected, she almost laughed.
    "I'm Mace. And there's no reason for you to be nervous."
    Kevin introduced Trevor, Mark, Perry, and Steve, and Mace greeted each of them warmly.
    "Let's go inside," he said, holding the door open as they filed in.
    Though more relaxed than a moment before, Mallory was still hesitant. When she paused at the door, Kevin took her arm and pulled her inside.
    It was stuffy and dark in the building; candlelight flickered through a couple of the doorways that lined the corridor ahead, and shadows danced like dark ghosts all around them.
    "Did you buy this place?" Mark asked.
    Mace replied, "I own it," as he closed the door behind them and locked it. He stepped into one of the rooms for a moment, then returned holding a candle. Above the flame, the features of his narrow face seemed to writhe over his skull as if small, restless insects were crawling beneath his pale skin. Mallory's fear returned in an instant, pulling her with an almost tangible force back to the door, but Kevin held her arm until Mace spoke again, and her unease left as quickly as it had returned.
    "Let's go downstairs," he said happily. He led them down the corridor and around a corner, the light of his candle squirming through the darkness, to a staircase that seemed to spiral down to nowhere.
    Their feet clattered on the metal stairs as they followed Mace to the room below.

    Jeff hated himself as he parked his mother's car on Whitley and killed the engine. When he rolled down the window, he heard laughter echoing from the hidden parking lot behind the abandoned building.
    After school that day, Mallory had met Jeff at the car. She said that she wasn't meeting Kevin after all and needed a ride home. In the car, she told Jeff that Kevin had met someone who wanted to give the band exposure, and that she was going to go with him to see the guy that night. Her mood had changed drastically since that morning; she couldn't sit still in the seat as she excitedly talked about what that night's meeting could mean for Kevin's band.
    "They might get some club work," she said, "so you could come see them play. You'll love Kevin's music, Jeff, really," she added quickly, touching his arm and bouncing slightly in the seat. "He's incredible on the guitar, and he's never had a lesson! He loves music—I mean, he's passionate about it, you know—it means more to him than anything, and this might—God, I hope so—give him the chance to, like, prove it, you know? Prove that there really is something he works hard at and does well."
    Her excitement and enthusiasm nibbled at his insides with sharp teeth. Somewhere deep inside himself, Jeff recognized the feeling as jealousy but wouldn't admit it to himself. He never did.
    "Where are you meeting this guy?" he asked.
    "I don't know. Kevin's picking me up at six. The guy told him to bring his girlfriend," she added with an almost bashful smile.
    It didn't occur to Jeff to follow them until a half hour before Kevin was to arrive. Something about this meeting—
    The guy told him to bring his girlfriend.
    —didn't sound quite right